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Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica

The National Gallery of Ancient Art is located in Palazzo Barberini, in Via delle Quattro Fontane, in central Rome.

It was officially founded in 1893, to accommodate the great artistic heritage of the Corsini collection, the Torlonia collection and, in later years, the Chigi, Hertz, Monte di Pietà and other collections.

The Italian State purchased Palazzo Barberini in 1949, and it was destined to become the headquarters of the National Gallery of Ancient Art.

The Corsini collection, however, was returned to its original home in its namesake, Palazzo Corsini.

The National Gallery of Ancient Art in Palazzo Barberini currently exhibits masterpieces, above all from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Filippo Lippi’s wonderful painting, Madonna and Child Enthroned, stands out among the fifteenth century works.

The important group of 16th century paintings includes Raphael’s Fornarina and works by artists such as Andrea del Sarto, Beccafumi, Sodoma, Bronzino, Lotto, Tintoretto, Titian and El Greco, and late 16th century works such as Caravaggio’s Judith Beheading Holofernes.

There is no shortage of seventeenth and eighteenth century works, with works by artists such as Poussin, Bernini, Pietro da Cortona and Canaletto, to name a few of the most famous.

The museum experience concludes with a visit to the evocative apartment of Cornelia Costanza Barberini. With its rare, exquisite decorations it is a true eighteenth century gem.